Offshore Offspring
Offshore Offspring methodology
The Expat Explorer survey was conducted by independent research companies - data capturing was undertaken by Virtual Surveys between the months of February - April 2008, with data analysis conducted by Freshminds. The whole survey looked at a wide range of topics relevant to expats' lives including lifestyle elements such as living standards and an expat's ability to earn and save; to issues affecting expat offspring such as cost to raise and study time; to integration.
For Offshore Offspring, each country was measured on the cost of raising a family, how much time they spent outdoors, children's study time, additional languages learnt and how long parents believe their children will stay in the country after they have grown up. The final ranking in the data table is based on the average score generated using the criteria below:
| Best country | Ranking criteria | What determines a good score for a country? |
|---|---|---|
Offshore Offspring |
1. Outdoor time |
An increase in time spent outdoors - ranked on percentage that answered “spend more time” |
2. Study time |
An increase in time spent studying - ranked on percentage that answered “spend more time” |
|
3. Cost to raise |
A lower cost (includes education and other costs) - ranked on the net difference between those who responded “increase” and those who responded “decrease” |
|
4. Languages |
Where children speak more than two languages - ranked on total percentage that answered “2/3” or “4/5” or “6+ languages” |
|
5. Remain in country |
Parents' belief that their children will stay after they have grown up - ranked on percentage who responded positively to children remaining in resident country |
Scoring
- Each of the criteria is weighted evenly
- Sample size of 2,155 living in over 48 countries
- Only countries with more than 30 responses were included in overall table (14 in total) to be statistically significant.
- Individual country data has also been used to indicate interesting trends.
- From the 2,155 expatriates surveyed, 870 had children.
- The league table summarises a series of questions and as a result, in some countries the number of respondents with children falls under 30 when answering specific questions. However, the number of overall responses from each country in the league table remains statistically significant.
Overall results for Offshore Offspring
| Country | Outdoor time | Study time | Cost to raise | Languages spoken | Remain in country | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
| France | 3 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
| Germany | 6 |
6 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
| Canada | 4 |
7 |
7 |
14 |
1 |
4 |
| Singapore | 5 |
3 |
4 |
7 |
14 |
5 |
| US | 8 |
9 |
5 |
10 |
2 |
6 |
| Australia | 1 |
7 |
9 |
13 |
5 |
7 |
| India | 14 |
1 |
2 |
12 |
8 |
8 |
| China | 11 |
10 |
3 |
6 |
8 |
9 |
| Belgium | 13 |
12 |
8 |
2 |
11 |
10 |
| Hong Kong | 11 |
5 |
12 |
8 |
12 |
11 |
| Netherlands | 9 |
13 |
10 |
5 |
10 |
12 |
| UK | 9 |
11 |
14 |
10 |
7 |
13 |
| UAE | 7 |
14 |
13 |
9 |
12 |
14 |
NB: Each country received a score out of 14 for each section. The country with the lowest score is deemed the best for each criterion. These scores are then translated into a ranking, with 1 being the best and 14 the lowest.
The cost of raising children abroad
Spain, India and China are the cheapest countries in which to raise children, with more than half of expats living in these countries reporting they experienced a reduction in costs compared with their country of origin.
Finance capitals are the most expensive countries in which to raise children - over four fifths (85%) of expats living in the UK said that it was more expensive followed by more than three quarters (79%) of people in the UAE and two-thirds (64%) of parents living in Hong Kong.
The UK's poor score continues on from the first Expat Existence report, where it was revealed to be one of the worst locations for expat lifestyle. Interestingly, the UAE, which was revealed as one of the top three expat locations for lifestyle, scored last overall for children, demonstrating that although it may be a good option for expats generally, it is perhaps not preferred as a location in which to raise children. The US, which ranked equal third in the first report, also appeared much further down the table, coming sixth.
Travel abroad for more active children
Generally expats experienced an increased outdoor lifestyle in the Mediterranean and countries with wide open spaces.
Almost half (44%) of expats reported that their children spent more time outdoors in their adopted countries. Australia came top of the table, where over three-quarters (80%) of parents reported that their children spent more time outdoors, followed by Spain (59%) and France (57%).
Countries with more extreme weather generally limit outdoor lifestyle for expat children. The lowest scoring countries included India, Hong Kong and UAE.
The cultural advantage
From the data, it seems very few expats move to countries where their children put in less study time. A third of parents overall (34%) said that their children studied more in their new country, with over half (56%) revealing that it remained about the same.
India, France and Singapore are home to the children who study more than when they lived in their country of origin, with over 67%, 57% and 42% from each country respectively reporting an overall increase in study time. In contrast, expat children in Belgium spend the least time studying compared with their country of origin. A quarter (25%) of expat children from Belgium study less (the highest recorded in the survey), with the US (15%) and the UAE (13%) also registering drops in the amount of study time.
Another point of interest is that older children are more likely to increase their study time once they have relocated. Almost half (41%) of children 10 years and older study for longer now that they are living in their new home, compared with just 32% of under 10s.
Languages
Overall, almost two-thirds (63%) of expat children speak two or more languages. Children living in European countries learn the greatest number of languages, with almost all expat children living in Spain (94%) speaking two or more languages. Germany and France also ranked highly, with almost nine-tenths (87%) of expat children speaking two or more languages. A third (33%) of children overall speak just one language, with this number largely being made up of predominantly English-speaking countries.
In contrast, expat children in Asia do not learn new languages. Just over one-fifth (21%) of expat children in Singapore and Hong Kong (22%) picked up a new language. This compares with the sample average of 40%.
Expectation to remain
The survey found that Canada is one of the most popular places to live. One-third of expats living in Canada believe their children will remain there in adulthood and Canadian expats themselves also have the highest percentage (43%) who expect their children to return to their country of origin.
Australian and New Zealand expats are also closely tied to their homeland, with almost half (42%) and over a third (38%) of expats respectively believing their children are likely to return home.
Almost half (42%) of expats living in China think their children will return to their country of origin. Parents in the UK also shared this mentality, with only one in ten parents believing that their children will remain in the country. A fifth (21%) believed that their children will return to their country of origin, whilst 20% believed that they will move to a new country altogether.
Expats in Singapore are the least certain about where their children will choose to live, with over four-fifths (81%) claiming they have no idea what their children will choose.
Healthy children
The Offshore Offspring report also looked separately at where the healthiest expat children resided (this did not contribute to the league table). India and Australia had the healthiest expat children, based on how much sport they play, how much junk food they eat, the amount of time spent playing computer games and watching television.
Almost two-thirds (64%) of expat parents in Australia said that their children played more sports and four-fifths (80%) of parents in same country also claimed that their children spent more time outdoors. Four out of ten said that they spend less time watching television.
The UK ranked worst overall for all categories, with over four-fifths (86%) of children who have made their home in the UK spending either the same or more time watching television than in their country of origin. Ninetenths (90%) of children in the UK also spend either the same amount or more time playing computer games.
Children in Spain, France, India and Germany scored the best in the category of junk food eaten, with 80%, 68%, 67% and 54% from each respective country saying that their children ate less than in their country of origin. In contrast, over half (51%) of children living in the USA consume more junk food since they relocated, with only one-tenth (7%) of children eating less.
| Best country | Ranking criteria | What determines a good score for a country? |
|---|---|---|
Offshore |
1. Playing sports |
An increase in time spent playing sports - ranked percentage that answered “spend more time” |
2. Junk food eaten |
A decrease in the amount of junk food eaten - ranked on percentage that answered “eat less junk food” |
|
3. Computer games |
An decrease in time spent playing computer games - ranked on percentage that answered “spend less time” |
|
4. Watching TV |
A decrease in time spent watching television - ranked on percentage that answered “spend less time” |
| Country (base) | Playing sports | Junk food eaten | Computer games | Watching TV | Overall Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | 11 |
12 |
11 |
12 |
1 |
| Australia | 14 |
6 |
12 |
12 |
2 |
| France | 8 |
13 |
8 |
12 |
3 |
| Spain | 2 |
14 |
14 |
8 |
4 |
| Germany | 8 |
11 |
4 |
13 |
5 |
| Belgium | 9 |
10 |
13 |
3 |
6 |
| China | 5 |
5 |
13 |
12 |
7 |
| Singapore | 12 |
8 |
9 |
4 |
8 |
| Canada | 13 |
2 |
1 |
14 |
9 |
| UAE | 8 |
8 |
7 |
5 |
10 |
| Netherlands | 1 |
9 |
7 |
7 |
11 |
| US | 10 |
1 |
7 |
2 |
12 |
| Hong Kong | 5 |
4 |
4 |
6 |
13 |
| UK | 3 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
14 |
NB: Each country received a score out of 14 for each section. The country with the highest score is deemed the best for each criterion. These scores are then translated into a ranking, with 1 being the best and 14 the lowest.
Download Offshore Offspring Report Summary
Media enquiries - for further information on the survey please call:
Tim Mullen, Hill and Knowlton on: +44 (0)207 413 3465 or
Anouchka Burton, Hill and Knowlton on: +44 (0)207 413 3181
